Alvaro Morata has insisted that he is prepared to battle for a spot in the Real Madrid first XI this season as Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo both close on a return to action.
Morata, who re-joined Real Madrid from Juventus in the summer, has started both of the Spanish club's La Liga games this season, but head coach Zinedine Zidane has been without both Benzema and Ronaldo.
It is thought that Benzema could return this weekend against Osasuna, but Morata has vowed to "make it difficult" for Zidane when it comes to naming the starting team.
"It does not matter if Benzema plays on Saturday. Patience and ambition are important. If I do not play from the beginning I have to do as against Liechtenstein [for Spain] - enter in the field and score goals," Morata told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"In the two years at Juventus I learned so much about what I should not do when I was in Madrid: get onto the pitch anxious to try to prove everything in a few minutes. Since that first experience in Madrid I have grown so much. [Fernando] Morientes, who was my idol, he told me that I had to leave and then return. I listened to him and I did well.
"It is clear that if I had gone to another team I would have played more, but Real is my dream and I want to try to make it happen. In my head I have nothing else. They [Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo] are three of the best players in the world, but I will always fight to play and will give everything to make it difficult for the coach."
Morata scored twice for Spain in their 8-0 victory over Liechtenstein on Tuesday night.
Matt Law
